Some info please?Follow

I'm probably getting WoW at the end of summer so here's my dilema

ok so In my long quest to decide what class I wanted I have gone through many things hunter, rogue, pally, basically every class and race except for gnomes, gnomes are lame... so I was talking to my friend and he told me about the shaman, something I had not yet considered, he told me what they can do and elemental(or whatever you call the spell-casting) caught my fancy, I wanted more information but basically all he could tell since he had never played one before me was that with the right gear they can deal out some awesome dps, I just want to know more in depth information about shamans, for example, what my role would be in a dungeon? would i be at all successful in PvP? stuff like that, and also do I have to focus on fire or earth spells? or can I do both? thank you in advance for sharing your experience with me.

Edited, Jun 24th 2008 11:05pm by RahuWhatElse

ok so I read it, but I also wanted some experienced shaman advice...

Ok, besides the FAQ from my experience:

I play both, Elemental und Enhancement Shaman. I play "casual hardcore" if you like,
concentrating on PvE an I don´t like 25-raids.

If you are familiar with all the theorycraft and well equipped, you can be a
strong damage-dealer. As a hybrid class, I´m personally very satisfied with
the amount of damage I am able to deal. Remember that you have strong group
buffs and can heal yourself and others ! So you can hit the top-ranks, allthough
you are a hybrid class -> in my opinon more than fair, concerning all you "buff-potential"

In a dungeon you concentrate on dps and placing your totems for best support. Because
of your healing abilities, you might be able to step in when things get out of control
and save the day...if you are fast enough and aware of what you can do and you can´t do ;-)
Your range of spells is not that big, so you basically hit 2-3 buttons if you
are just casting (and maybe counter a caster yourself)

You depend on nature spells (lightnings), maybe there will also be a stronger part of
fire spells in the future (next addon)

MAYBE

;-))

Leveling up is a pain in the **** until you hit about Level 40 ;-) you hardly die,
but so do your enemys ;p After that, your talents improve your "firepower" and the
fun starts !

PvP is right now not a Shamans shining side...to stay polite. But I avoid that where I can,
so I won´t comment that aspect.

This is a personal view, everyone experiences things different. I always loved
playing a Shaman.

One last hint: When you hit 70, also start equipping yourself with enhancement-gear.
You may want to switch from a caster to a melee-class sometime...and it´s big
fun too !

Shamen are odd birds. The ones who cast spells aren't like traditional spell-casters (those would be mages and locks, with a wide range of spells that do different things). They basically zap things over and over with lightning bolts. The ones who melee can't tank. Both can do incredible damage, among the best in the game, but they have few defenses, especially in PvP. Their heals are usually pretty lousy without strong gear and the use of healing talents, which take away from damage-dealing ability.

The non-healing Shaman (I'm gonna avoid the plural if I can) is basically all about two things -- totems and luck. Totems are our special ability that make us more than just a half-baked mage or rogue. They are most useful in groups, though you drop them sometimes when soloing. You get one totem per element at a time -- those are your fire, earth, air and water spells that you juggle, and there are dozens of options. You have to use them very strategically. It's far more complicated than many other classes, which makes up for the rather simple ways a Shaman does damage (lightning bolts as elemental or autoattack/stormstrike as enhance, both with an occasional insta-cast shock thrown in).

Luck comes into play because, in contrast to the micro-management needed for totems, the Shaman's key offensive ability is based on a proc, basically a random chance for something to happen. For an enhancer it's windfury or for an elemental it's lightning overload. (I haven't played elemental but LO seems to be Blizz's attempt to introduce a wf-like proc system there, some greater mind can correct me if I'm wrong). If you like seeing suddenly huge numbers that no one in the game can match, it's fun. But you never know if it's gonna happen when you need it.

This seems to be a misconception for a lot of people. I've tanked quite a few instances when I was enhanced. In fact, my shammy friend tanked a heroic not too long ago as elemental! It's just a matter of gear and ability. Although, shammies (since we're on the subject of tanking), would be better off-tanking if anything. I've been in groups where there were enhanced shammies tanking mobs that have come directly to me (the healer).

It's possible, it's just that people don't think of it.

Yes you can do this. Going from 1-60, I had been enhanced (with Resto thrown in), and then from 60-70, elemental with resto. Check out these builds for an idea on the typs of spec you're looking for.

Elemental PVE - from FAQ

Enhancement - from FAQ

Enhancement - variation

Woo! Well crap, now you need to post a few more

so will leveling be as easy if I do elemental/resto instead of enhancement/resto?